


crush

by hotfruits



Series: jeith discord fics [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Female James Griffin (Voltron), Female Keith (Voltron), Fluff, Genderswap, Insecure Keith (Voltron), Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, School Dances, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 19:12:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17986994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotfruits/pseuds/hotfruits
Summary: When Jamie Griffin comes back into her life, her plan is to just avoid the other girl at all costs.She fails, of course.





	crush

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cosmologier (cowsbark)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowsbark/gifts).



> written for the jeith exchange and my baby andy. surprise!!!
> 
> also, totally late on the vday prompt my jeith discord friends, but here's vday and slow dancing soooo :)
> 
> TY emma for reading over this for me~

She’s been sitting on the bottom row of the bleachers for about twenty minutes now, watching her peers dance in the middle of the room under the cheap heart-themed streamers and disco ball. A few students have asked her to dance but she turns them down, fidgeting with the hem of her dress between her sweaty palms. A part of her just wants to get up and leave, high school memories be damned, even if it means receiving Shiro’s saddened sigh when she shows up before 11 o’clock. She’s out of her element here, the sounds too loud and the lights too bright, and her friends ditched her awhile ago to go dance and make memories and have fun, like kids their age are supposed to do.

Another part of her can’t stop watching Jamie Griffin though, transfixed as the girl dances in a circle with her friends. Instead of her usual messy and unstyled hair, the long bangs are gelled back, but they don't look hardened or wet. They appear soft as they swoop away from her face, highlighting her sharp cheekbones and the curve of her jaw. Her makeup is subtle but still eye-catching, the dark eyeliner sweeping along her lash line making her grey irises pop, while her burgundy lips show off her cupid’s bow and plush bottom lip. The dress she wears is black and fairly simple, but the lack of sleeves and its short length do nothing to ease her current state of mind. If anything, she keeps finding her gaze drifting towards those toned arms, strengthened from years of softball, while her naturally long legs shine under the disco lights, with only certain areas shadowed by her dress and movements. 

She grips her dress a little tighter and sighs, willing away her inappropriate thoughts.

When she first met Jamie in the seventh grade, she hated the other girl. She was rude, pompous, and an all around bitch. They got into a big fight at the end of the year and then Jamie moved, due to her father being relocated overseas. At the time, she thought _good riddance_ and continued on with her life, attempting to find herself after the loss of her father and her older cousin, Shiro, becoming her legal guardian, due to the declining health of their grandmother, the only other relative they had. From there, she began to grow, Shiro and his partner Adam helping to ease the loss she felt and to channel her aggression and sadness into something new. She tried painting, karate, ballet, but nothing really stuck, not until Adam took her flying over the summer break before high school. It was the first time since her father died that she truly felt at ease, free as they soared through the clouds, tears streaming down her face while she hollered in excitement.

Her freshman year was a little rough, as she struggled to make many friends. She would often spend her lunch time hanging out in her Spanish class, doing prep work and other TA duties for her teacher Mr. Chandra. He quickly became her favorite and Shiro and Adam expressed their gratitude towards the other during fall conferences. She didn’t miss the way Shiro’s eyes would linger away from the others’ face and towards his lean physique, nor did she miss Adam’s panicked look as they left the conference, sneaking furtive glances back at her teacher. 

At the end of the year, she convinced the two to just email him and express their interests, since he was no longer her teacher. It didn’t take long for Mr. Chandra to become Curtis, and a permanent fixture in her life.

Sophomore year is when she meets Lance and Hunk, two freshman in her P.E. class. She and Lance struggle to get along at first, but she and Hunk hit it off immediately. It’s only after Lance is publicly humiliated by Nyma and Rolo and he finally drops his stupid, macho facade, that she can actually see Lance for who he really is; a kind, soft-hearted boy who just wants to be loved. They bond over time, quickly becoming best friends, supporting each other through their ups and downs, and ready to fight anyone who talks shit about the other. 

The three of them become an unstoppable trio, then quartet, when Pidge comes along the next school year and immediately worms their way into their hearts. The two of them bond over their love of science and the supernatural, spending many hours over at each other's’ houses and watching documentaries and debating different theories. It’s while at their house that she also meets Matt, their older brother, who is studying astrophysics at the university. Matt is cute, in a weird, nerdy way, but he already has a girlfriend, so she moves on and continues to focus on her studies and her friends.

It’s during her senior year that life throws her a major curveball, in the form of Jamie Griffin coming back home. When she first sees her at lunch, she can barely believe it, but there’s no mistaking those grey eyes or that amused, slightly smug grin she throws at Ryan Kinkade. Realistically, it shouldn’t be a problem that Jamie is back home; she’s long forgotten the other girl and the way she tormented her throughout seventh grade, but seeing her now, it throws her for a loop. Her hair is no longer down to her shoulders, but is cut into a short, boyish cut, with longer bangs framing the front. Her face is no longer lined in baby fat, nor is she gangly and uncoordinated in her too-longed limbs. She’s beautiful, with sharp cheekbones and a small chest, the curve of her waist dipping inwards while her hips flow outwards, swaying as she walks with Ryan to deposit her now empty lunch tray. 

There’s no other word to describe the way she is feeling but shook, completely and utterly shook. She decides then and there that she’s just going to avoid Jamie, but of course, luck no longer seems to be on her side.

When she walks into Mr. Singh’s AP Literature class at the end of the day, the only available seat is right beside Jamie. She panics for a moment, but then resides herself to her fate, dragging her feet across the room and plopping down into the empty seat, her backpack hitting the floor with a small thud. From the corner of her eye, she sees Jamie glance at her, then do a quick double take, her eyes widening in surprise as she seems to realize who her new seatmate is. Her cheeks flush in response and the back of her neck feels warm, despite her hair being pulled into a low ponytail.

At the end of class, she moves to grab her backpack and make her escape, but is stopped by a hand on her arm. For a brief moment, she considers shrugging the hand off and leaving anyways, because why would Jamie want to talk to her? They were never friends, and their last interaction left the other girl bruised and on the floor, tears welling up in her eyes as she cupped her cheek.

“Kat,” Jamie speaks and she sighs, her posture tense as she turns to face her. “It’s...been awhile.”

“Yeah,” she responds, letting out a sigh of relief when Jamie’s hand retreats back to her own lap. “Welcome back, I guess…”

“Thanks,” Jamie says, with just the barest hint of a smile. “I’ll see you around?”

“Uh, sure,” she gives a hesitant smile back, and when Jamie smiles at her just a little brighter, it feels like a swarm of butterflies have erupted inside her belly.

She sits beside Jamie the next day, sneaking furtive glances at the other girl as she fidgets with her pencil. She sits beside her the day after that, and all of next week, too, until it stops feeling awkward and becomes routine. They spend the class period working together and then part ways at the door, giving each other quiet waves as they head in opposite directions towards their lockers. It isn’t until the end of September that Jamie finally brings up middle school and apologizes for acting like a bitch, and she apologizes as well, for letting her anger get the best of her and physically attacking her.

They become closer after that, exchanging numbers so they can text about Mr. Singh’s homework. They even sit together at lunch a few times to work on assignments, but eventually her friends and Jamie’s join in as well, and it just becomes an everyday thing.

On Halloween, they hang out for the first time outside of school at Lance’s party. They end up leaving together and making the short walk from Lance’s house to her apartment building. It’s late when they get in, but Adam is still awake, nestled between Shiro and Curtis on the couch. She can see Jamie’s brow raise curiously, but ignores it for now, dragging the girl to her bedroom so they can get out of their costumes and into the bathroom to wash their faces.

When they’re laying down for the night, she opens up to Jamie and tells her about her dad, the fire, and how Shiro ended up getting custody of her. It’s difficult to get through, all of the bad times, but she tells her about Adam and the times he took her flying, how the two of them fell in love with Curtis and acted like total dweebs about it, much to her amusement, and how she finally found true friendship with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. By the end of her story, it’s well past two in the morning and she’s yawning tearily into her hand, Jamie in a similar state of exhaustion.

“Thanks for opening up to me,” she says, bits of black eyeliner still smudged around her eyes, her lips tinted red from her deep, burgundy lipstick. She thinks about what it’d be like to kiss her, to caress Jamie’s soft lips with her own, to feel the moisture sliding between them and the heat of their breaths becoming one.

“Thanks for listening,” she says, squashing down her urges and instead turning off her little bedside lamp, plunging them into darkness. She falls asleep easily, surprisingly enough, to the warmth of Jamie sharing her bed, their legs brushed up against each other under the thick covers.

The next morning, Adam makes them pancakes and they eat in front of the TV, watching cartoons under a shared blanket, the air inside the apartment crisp from the fall weather outside. Before she leaves, Jamie hugs her and says they should hang out again soon; so, they do. They spend time at the apartment and at Jamie’s house, and sometimes they just walk around outside, their arms brushing against each other as they chat about life and everything in between as the season begins to change. They get closer and closer, until her feelings for this beautiful aren’t just physical, but emotional as well. She finds herself attracted to Jamie’s intelligence and quick thinking, her stubborn attitude and penchant for following the rules, the way she laughs at the dumbest things and has the weirdest, most irrational fear of the ocean, despite living in Roswell and nowhere near any large bodies of water. She’s a wonderfully weird and exceptional human being, who makes her feel grounded in a world that is often too much for her.

“Hey,” she startles as her thoughts are interrupted and looks up, seeing Jamie looking down at her with a grin. “What are you doing over here?” She shrugs, and Jamie tsk’s at her, shaking her head. “C’mon, come dance with me.”

“It’s kinda crowded, and loud…”

“Then we can dance right here,” Jamie says and reaches for her hand, easily pulling her into a standing position. Her eyes widen as she quickly comes face to face with the girl of her dreams, her body momentarily freezing when Jamie’s arms loop around her neck. “C’mon Kat, it’s just us,” Jamie says and she releases the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, her knees slowly unlocking and her shoulders easing back down to their normal position. 

She begins to lift her hands, pausing for a moment as she wonders where to put them. She can see Jamie’s amused expression and thinks _fuck it,_ encircling her arms around Jamie’s waist, her hands resting at the small of her back. “There, not too bad, right?”

“Nah,” she smiles, following Jamie’s lead and stepping from side to side, slowly moving in a half circle. As she turns, she sees Hunk dancing with Shay, the two giving her a thumbs up. Another turn and she sees Coach Allura dancing with Mr. Singh, giggling as Mr. Singh mouths the words to the song to her. She smiles in response and glances back at Jamie, who is watching her with a soft expression. “What?”

“Nothing, you’re just,” Jamie tilts her head to the side, her gaze affectionate and warm. “Are you having a good time?”

“I am now,” she replies, feeling content and happy in Jamie’s arms. Of course, that’s when the song begins to fade out, replaced by a boppier tune that has all the students cheering and whooping. She can’t help but feel disappointed, beginning to unravel herself from Jamie’s presence, but is stopped by a hand on her arm. 

“Wanna get out of here?”

“I don’t want you to miss anything…” she nods her head towards the crowd, a slight frown pulling at her lips. Jamie seems to consider her words for a second, before rolling her eyes and grabbing her hand, pulling her out of the gymnasium and towards the double doors that lead outside. As they open, a blast of cold air swoops in on them and she shivers, moving to huddle closer to Jamie. “It’s kinda cold…”

Jamie grins and reaches into her bra, pulling out her keys. “C’mon, we can go sit in my car.”

They turn towards the direction of the cars and quickly locate Jamie’s, hopping into the backseat. It’s still warm from when she drove earlier and she lets out a sigh, sinking further into the seat. “This is nice,” she comments, referring to the quietness of the car and, of course, to being with Jamie, even if the other girl doesn’t know what. She looks over at her and feels her heart begin to quicken, as Jamie looks even more beautiful under the muted glow of the moonlight than she did under the twinkling disco ball. The sharpness of her face is softened, while her grey eyes appear darker, more sultry with the winged eyeliner elongating them. She wants to kiss her, _so much_ , but doesn’t want to ruin the friendship they’ve built.

“You okay?” Jamie asks, looking at her in concern. She nods her head, but Jamie’s expression switches from concerned to skeptical, raising a brow at her. “C’mon Kat, we’re friends, right? You can talk to me.”

She grips the hem of her between her fists. “It’s just...there’s this girl I like…” she ducks her gaze towards the floor, brows furrowing. “But we’re friends, and I’m worried if I tell her, I’ll mess that up…her friendship means the world to me,” she says the last part quietly, mostly to herself, but can see that Jamie heard her regardless, as she dares to sneak a peek at the other girl. Her expression is unreadable, and she feels the nerves twisting her insides up, that old forgotten urge to run away bubbling back up inside her.

“What if she likes you back, though?” Jamie asks a moment, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

She sighs, shaking her head. “Why would she? She’s beautiful, funny, smart, and I’m,” she gestures weakly to herself. “I’m just me.”

“Katherine Kogane, oh my god,” Jamie chuckles, scooching on over to the middle seat and bringing their proximity much closer together. “You’re the smartest person in our class, and one of the toughest, funniest,” she grins, leaning further into her space, “Most beautiful girl I know. Trust me,” she pauses, bringing a hand to her knee, “Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

She gulps, her heart hammering in her chest as the butterflies begin to flap their wings inside her belly. “You think so?”

“Absolutely.”

“Jamie, I,” she hesitates, glancing down at Jamie’s burgundy lips, then back towards her eyes. “I -”

She’s cut off, though, as a pair of soft lips brush against her own. It’s the barest of touches, as Jamie backs away a smidge, looking at her considerably. She can see a slight nervousness in the other girl’s eyes, waiting on her reaction, and for the second time that night, she thinks _fuck it_ and swoops in, bringing a hand to the back of Jamie’s neck and pulling her in for a real kiss. The hand on her knee tightens, while Jamie’s other hand moves to her shoulder, her thumb brushing along her collarbone.

She melts into the kiss, letting out small, pleased sounds as their lips slide together, their warm breaths mingling every time they pull back an inch to breathe, before diving in again. They kiss for what feels like forever, lost in the moment, until air becomes an issue and they’re pulling away to take in large gulps of air, breathing harshly in the small space between them. “Oh my god,” she says after she’s gotten her breath back, smiling stupidly at Jamie, who is looking at her with a similar expression. “Oh my god,” she says again, because what else is there to say? The girl of her dreams, one of her closest friends, just kissed her! _Her!_

“Yeah,” Jamie chuckles, her moving from her shoulder and towards her cheek, cupping it gently in her palm. “I’ve been wanting to do that for forever.”

“Me too,” she confesses, and then Jamie is leaning back in, kissing her softly and delicately, as if she’s got all the time in the world to simply explore and enjoy. 

She cracks open an eye and can see the glow of the lights still emitting from the gym windows. So, as the dance continues to rage on, she continues to kiss Jamie, because while she may not have all the time in the world, she’s got right now, and that’s more than enough.

**Author's Note:**

> now that this is over, I'll update i wanna shoop, baby soon!


End file.
